Recently in the clinic, I’ve had quite a few patients come to see me because sitting is painful. And as most people sit behind a computer for a majority of the day, you can imagine the problems this causes!
If you’re in that boat right now, here are 3 common culprits behind pain with sitting and some quick solutions to each!
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Posture and lack of movement
Let’s start with the obvious. Humans are made to move so when we sit for long periods of time, blood circulation decreases and our joints start to stiffen, which can then lead to pain. (Especially if we’re in less than ideal postures for long periods like hunched over a computer). I know it’d be very impractical to suggest that everyone just quit their job so I’m going to instead recommend fitting in some small, but frequent movements throughout the day. I like to tell my patients to set an alarm that goes off each hour throughout their work day to remind themselves to take one minute to do some quick movements (right at their desk!). Here are some examples (linked to videos):
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Rotations – you can try either 5 per side or just once but hold for about 20-30 seconds per side
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Rotations with a lunge – try these if you’re feeling fancy! again try for 5 a side.
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Squats – try 2-3 sets of 10 or one set of 20 if you can
And if you cannot get out of yet another Zoom meeting and are stuck seated, try about 10 to 20 glute squeezes (no video here because it’s exactly as it sounds – just squeeze your bum!)
If you do have the chance to sneak away from your desk, you can also try these:
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Doorway chest stretch – hold for 20-30 seconds per side
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Countertop plank – try a few sets holding 10-30 seconds depending on your current fitness level and how low your counter is (the closer to the floor, the more challenging it will be); remember to keep breathing and not to arch your back
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Countertop forward stretch – you can try either 10 back and forths or can hold for about 30 seconds to 1 minute
Even just taking a quick lap around your house or building can be a great way to fit some movement in your day!
2. Sciatica
If you’re feeling discomfort in the middle of the butt (or perhaps down the back of the leg) whenever you sit down, this can be due to sciatica. Sciatica simply refers to the irritation that occurs when the sciatic nerve (the large nerve that runs from our glutes down the back of our leg) gets compressed.
This usually happens when our glute muscles are tight and are therefore pushing on the nerve. Our glute muscles can get tight for a variety of reasons (and ironically, sitting too much is one of those reasons!) Most people who experience this pain think that stretching will help but stretching the glute muscles will actually compress the nerve more and may lead to further irritation. What most people really need to do is strengthen their glutes through a full range of motion. Here are some example exercises:
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Hip thrust – can be done off the couch, make sure to lift your body with your hips instead of your back
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Romanian deadlift (RDL) – be sure to keep your back flat so that you’re moving from your hips rather than your back
A caveat to say that these might not feel great if you are in a ton of glute pain, in which case I always recommend making an appointment with your friendly, local physical therapist. And again, I will say that being more active throughout the day is always optimal.
3. Coccydynia
Coccydynia, otherwise known as coccyx pain, is a real pain in the behind (pun intended!). This can develop after a fall on the bum or childbirth, but can also come on seemingly at random due to underlying pelvic floor dysfunction. People with coccydynia often describe their symptoms as a sharp or burning pain right at the tailbone area.
The immediate solution to this is to first offload the tailbone. This means limiting time spent sitting, or if that’s not possible, at least using a cushion to put less pressure on the tailbone. Like I said above with the sciatic nerve, painful structures do not typically like to be compressed. So when the tailbone is already irritated, we try to put the least amount of pressure on it as possible so that it can calm down.
Coccydynia can also respond well to massage of the muscles around the tailbone (aka the pelvic floor!). A pelvic floor physical therapist can help with this! If you’re on your own, I’d recommend stretching the pelvic floor muscles. Here are some of my favorite ways to do that:
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I’d recommend holding each of the above stretches for about 30 seconds, while you focus on breathing deeply and relaxing your pelvic floor.
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Half kneeling hip opener – You can rock into and out of this one for about 10x with your leg in front of you and 10x with your leg out to the side before switching legs then repeating. Again, focus on your breath.
These stretches should feel good (or at the very least, they shouldn’t exacerbate any pain).
So there you have it! 3 common reasons why it might hurt to sit. Hopefully, these exercises help! If you’ve tried them out but are still having pain, please schedule an appointment so that we can help! Contact us here.
